2026 CJ Cup Byron Nelson preview and predictions: Scottie Scheffler, Jordan Spieth star in hometown event

The second major championship of the season has come and gone leaving the PGA Tour to pick up the pieces before the U.S. Open arrives next month. Serving as the second dish to the PGA Championship is the CJ Cup Byron Nelson, which returns to TPC Craig Ranch for the sixth straight year.

In the half decade the tournament has been held at the Tom Weiskopf design, PGA Tour players have eaten this place up for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The winning score has consistently reached the 25-under range with Scottie Scheffler even reaching 31 under last season to win by eight strokes.

The world No. 1 returns to defend his title this week in a field that features just two of the top 20 players in the Official World Golf Rankings. Scheffler arrives having finished inside the top 15 at the PGA Championship after holding a share of the first-round lead. After carding a 3-under round Thursday at Aronimink, Scheffler failed to break par his next two days in large part because of the putter.

Needing a career-high in majors 125 putts over the course of his four days at Aronimink, Scheffler hopes a return to the friendly confines of TPC Craig Ranch will bring some confidence on the greens. That being said, however, Lanny Wadkins came in following the completion of last year's tournament and redid just about everything about this place.

Green complexes have been contoured in a different manner, bunkers have been improved and made more difficult and new grass has been laid throughout the course with the hope of testing the PGA Tour's finest more adequately. Wadkins and those with ties to TPC Craig Ranch are aiming for a winning score around 15 under, but with how good these guys are that may be wishful thinking.

Dallas residents like Si Woo Kim, Jordan Spieth and Tom Kim are among the notables in the field, while five-time major champion Brooks Koepka tees it up hoping for his first win on the PGA Tour in his return or at least a finish that would secure his place in the two remaining signature events on the calendar.

2026 CJ Cup Byron Nelson schedule

Dates: May 21-24
Location: TPC Craig Ranch -- McKinney, Texas
Par: 71 | Yardage: 7,385 | Architect: Tom Weiskopf
Purse: $10,300,000

2026 CJ Cup Byron Nelson odds

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook

• Scottie Scheffler (+170)
• Si Woo Kim (13-1): There aren't many players better than Kim when it comes to tee-to-green acumen. The former Players Championship winner ranks second only to Scheffler in this field in that category over the last three months. Any holes in his long game have been cleaned up this year. Ranking top 10 in terms of driving accuracy, strokes gained off the tee and iron play, Kim's chances will come down to his putting and whether he is able to convert enough of those birdie looks. He has come close at TPC Craig Ranch before and given the sturdiness of his game, it is likely he can come close again.
• Jordan Spieth (18-1): Spieth is spinning plates at the moment. Once one part of his game is sured up, another seems to lag behind. This was evident at the PGA Championship where he putted beautifully on Thursday only to see short miss after short miss ruin his grand slam chances. Still, the pieces are all there and that should be seen as a positive. He has six top-20 finishes in 13 tournaments this year but zero top 10s. A contention run would be nice to see since it has gotten more rare for him in recent years.
• Brooks Koepka (25-1): Speaking of players frustrated on the greens. Despite changing to a different TaylorMade Spider putter at the PGA Championship, the five-time major champion could not increase his tally in that category to six. Koepka is the second-best iron player in this field over the last three months behind only Scheffler and checks in at third from tee to green and fourth in total strokes gained. The game is in a very tidy spot, but the requirement to make birdies in bunches this week makes it difficult to see his path to the top. 
• Keith Mitchell (37-1)
• Pierceson Coody (40-1)
• Michael Thorbjornsen (40-1): After a nice start to the year that included a top 20 at the Farmers Insurance Open and a near-miss at the WM Phoenix Open, Thorbjornsen has taken a slight step back. While he still has a few top-25 finishes since early February -- including a final pairing tee time Sunday at the Players -- the quality has waned with the reason being that inconsistencies have come for both his iron play and putting. Overall, he remains one of the most talented players in this field even if the game is not where he would love it to be.
• Ryo Hisatsune (47-1)
• Wyndham Clark (48-1): He missed the cut at the PGA Championship on a golf course where fairways were a requirement, but he can get away with his waywardness at TPC Craig Ranch where rain is expected all week. From fairway in, Clark has looked more connected as shown by his T21 at the Masters and T16 the following week at the RBC Heritage. After bleeding strokes with the putter all season long, the former U.S. Open champion has found a remedy the past month, which could make him frisky this week.
• Davis Thompson (49-1)

2026 CJ Cup Byron Nelson picks

	Scottie Scheffler
Winner (+170): Let's not overcomplicate this. Scheffler is the best player in the world by a decent margin and the best player in this field by a wide, wide margin. Although he has not won since his first tournament of the season, Scheffler's game is progressing nicely with high quality iron performances in three of his last four starts. These greens are much flatter and simpler than those at Aronimink, which should play into his hands.
	Tom Kim
Contender (72-1): Remember him? Kim hasn't made a ton of noise this year, but there are reasons for optimism this week. He just finished inside the top 10 at the Myrtle Beach Classic, is a resident in the Dallas area and made his way through final qualifying to punch his ticket into next month's U.S. Open. The putter is holding him back at the moment, but he has shown in his young career that it can flip on a dime.
	Eric Cole
Sleeper (86-1): The game is trending. Cole has three straight top-15 finishes to his credit with the latest coming in the form of a T6 effort in Myrtle Beach. He comes in with confidence and to a place that has provided confidence in two trips as he finished a distant T5 in last year's tournament. Cole continues to struggle off the tee, but the wide landing areas and soft conditions expected could allow the rest of his game to shine.

Who will win the 2026 CJ Cup Byron Nelson, and which longshots will stun the golfing world? Visit SportsLine now to see the projected leaderboard, all from the model that's nailed 17 golf majors heading into the weekend, including the past five Masters, and find out.